There are a variety of conditions that can be diagnosed during a developmental eye exam and treated with Vision Therapy.

• Convergence Problems
• Accomodative Issues
• Oculomotor Dysfunction
• Strabismus
• Ambloyopia
• Autism
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Learning Disabilities
• ADHD
• Athletes
• Macular Degeneration
• Diabetes
• Glaucoma
• Dry Eyes

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Convergence Problems

Convergence is ability to merge two images (one image from each eye). Problems occur when the eyes are misaligned, either too close together or too far apart, causing double or blurred vision and headaches. This condition does not result in eye-turns. Types are:

• Convergence Excess - too tight or aligned too close together
• Convergence Insufficiency - eyes are aligned too far apart or too loose

Accomodative Issues

Accomodation is the ability to focus and relax, a skill that is needed to see distance and close images clearly and without effort. Problems include:

• Accomodation Excess - the focusing muscle is too tight, therefore close-up vision is blurry when moving eyes from distance images to near images (example: chalkboard to notes in a classroom)
• Accomodation Insufficiency - the focusing muscle is too loose, so distance vision is blurry

Oculomotor Dysfunction

Oculomotor dysfunction occurs when eye tracking and teaming (the eyes' ability to work together) are not developed, or are developed improperly. This condition often results in reading comprehension disabilities, visual memory and visual discrimination deficits. This condition is diagnosed using Readalyzer. When eye tracking/teaming malfunctions, the results usually are confusion and comprehension related. When this occurs it's been discovered that the Magnocellular cells (Mcells) located in the area of the brain where visual processing occurs can't process visual information properly. This is because the information being sent from the eyes is jumbled, and not in the proper order. A simple sentence translation by the Mcells of the following sentence "the boy ran as fast as he could so he wasn't late for dinner" would look something like this: "Ran boy as fast as so he late for could dinner."

Strabismus

Strabismus occurs in about 5 percent of all people. It happens when one eye is misaligned, resulting in lazy eye and eye turn. The brain actually sees double or turns off and ignores the images from the turned eye in order to stop the double vision. This also causes lose of depth perception or 3D vision. This condition is usually genetic and most patients are born with it. The latest studies show that surgery is usually not the best correction for Strabismus, unless cosmetic results are all that matter. In fact, vision therapy is 85% successful for Exotropes (eye turns away from nose) and 75% successful for Esotropes (eye turns in towards nose). Recent studies indicate that Strabismus surgery actually reduces the success rates of the Strabismus vision therapy by 25%. Why? Surgery only fixes the mechanical problem of the eye turn. It does not address the vision aspect. So, if surgery is done on a patient with vision disorders resulting from Strabismus, then vision therapy is the only way to regain proper vision in that eye, regardless of surgery.

Ambloyopia

Ambloyopia means that one eye's visual acuity is uncorrectable to 20/20. This may result in an eye-turn with or without suppression. Suppression of images from one eye is a result of the brain's compensation mechanism to stop double or uncorrectable blurred vision.
Experts have estimated the eyes gather 80% of all information, so this will have a major impact on a person's functioning. That is why Amblyopia, if not treated with Vision therapy early in its diagnosis (not surgery, which only corrects the cosmetic eye-turn), will result in permanent visual system dysfunctions:

• Loss of teaming or binocular eye movement - eyes will no longer move in sync, most often resulting in lazy eye (Strabismus)
• Loss of depth perception - resulting in clumsy or uncoordinated movements
• Loss of bi-laterality - resulting in letter reversal
• Learning disabilities - reading, comprehension and near-work focusing (computer and reading)

Autism

Anyone with a diagnosis on the autism spectrum should have a comprehensive vision evaluation with a developmental optometrist. Our therapists can work to improve issues that are causing difficulties. Learn more on our Autism page.

Traumatic Brain Injury

Concussions can result in double or blurred vision, eye soreness and headaches. When a traumatic brain injury results in a Visual system disorder, it can be treated with vision therapy. Learn more on our neuro-rehab page.

Read more about the occurrence of oculomotor dysfunctions in acquired brain injury here.

Learning Disabilities

Reading comprehension, visual memory and/or visual discrimination deficits can often be overcome with correct vision treatment.

ADHD

Some children labled as ADHD are misdiagnosed, because they have a visual processing disorder that causes them to exhibit the behavior of a child with ADHD. Vision therapy can yield excellent results for these children when started early.

Athletes

Those who wish to enhance their vision to gain an edge or improve performance can benefit through vision training. Visit our Sports Vision Training page to learn more.

Syntonics

Syntonics or optometric phototherapy, is the branch of ocular science dealing with the application of selected light frequencies shined through the eyes. It has been used clinically for over 70 years in the field of optometry and shows promising results for people with autism and other disorders. 

Macular Degeneration

One of the most important reasons for regular examinations by your eye care provider is evaluate for the development of macular degeneration. According to the Bright Focus™ Foundation, this condition is the primary cause of loss of vision and blindness in older individuals ages 60 and above and is known under these circumstances as age-related macular degeneration. Studies conducted by the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) indicate that 10 to 15 million Americans have a diagnosis of age-related macular degeneration. Moreover, macular degeneration is a world-wide problem as the second most frequent cause of irreversible blindness globally.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the United States, making it an important public health priority. Although there are several factors that cause glaucoma, all types of glaucoma are characterized by damage to the optic nerve. This damage prevents the brain from receiving appropriate visual information, resulting in vision loss. If you experience any change in vision, contact an eye care provider immediately for a full examination.

Dry Eye

Sometimes your eyes don’t make enough tears or the tears evaporate too fast because they don’t have the right amount of compounds in them. This is called dry eye. Up to 5% of Americans complain of some form of dry eye. Individuals who wear contact lenses or have undergone LASIK or other types of refractive surgery commonly complain of dry eye. The condition is more common in women and is more common and severe in older persons

Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy refers to several eye problems that are characterized by damage to the light-sensitive retina, caused by excessive blood sugar levels. Almost half of Americans with diabetes suffer from some level of diabetic retinopathy. When glucose levels in the blood are not properly controlled, it can result in the formation of glaucoma, cataracts or blood vessel damage in the retina — all of which can cause vision loss if not diagnosed and treated early.